


my heart on the airwaves

by Suicix



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Radio, Crushes, Early Mornings, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious Choi Youngjae, Pre-Relationship, Radio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 01:31:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12158862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suicix/pseuds/Suicix
Summary: It’s been the quickest hour of the show so far when it’s usually the longest, and Youngjae can only put that down to Jackson’s presence beside him: the warmth he exudes, the easy chatter. That look in his eyes, somehow so similar to the way his voice sounds when he says Youngjae’s name on the air, something in it that Youngjae can’t ever seem to work out.





	my heart on the airwaves

**Author's Note:**

> a translation of this fic into russian is available [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6397609) \- thank you so much to antanya for taking the time to translate!

Youngjae introduces the next couple of songs on today’s playlist and turns the volume up as he hits play. It’s coming up for five AM, so there’s just over an hour left of his show: it’s that point of the night (or really, the morning) where life outside the studio doesn’t feel like it should be real anymore, where the beginning of the show just feels like a blur. Like it happened on a completely different day altogether, even though he starts at one. He’s been offered a different timeslot multiples times before, but he’s never taken it. The late night suits Youngjae, suits the music he wants to play. He likes getting to play slow ballads and soft RnB, likes being the soundtrack to a late night drive or someone sleeping. He likes living in the evening, living nocturnally, leaving the studio when his show’s over and sleeping all day when he gets home.

Right now, that’s exactly what he’s looking forward to the most. He enjoys his job, sure – would even go as far to say that he loves it, loves getting to work with music like he’s always dreamed of doing – but some mornings drag on for what feels like forever, and it’s difficult not to wish that he was in bed. It’s the end of _his_ day, after all.

He flips through the rest of his notes for today’s show, so immersed in just that and the music that’s playing that it’s a real shock when there’s a knock on the glass window in front of him. Youngjae blinks, startled, his head jerking up, and – _oh._ It’s Jackson.

(His heart skips a beat, too, and he tells himself that it’s just part of being surprised, that it would have happened no matter who tapped on that glass. Not because it’s Jackson specifically. Really, he’s an awful liar – even to himself.)

Their eyes lock. Jackson’s smiling – Youngjae can’t actually see it because of the face mask Jackson’s wearing, but it’s there in his eyes, visible even under the brim of his cap. He waves. Youngjae beckons for him to come inside, moving his headphones off of one ear.

“Hyung,” Youngjae says, surprised. “What are you doing here? Your show doesn’t start for another hour yet.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Jackson says simply, shutting the door behind him. He sits down on the stool beside Youngjae’s and takes off his mask but not his hat. “Thought I might as well come in, you know, ‘cause I’ve gotta be here soon anyway.”

On weekdays, Jackson does the breakfast show with Bambam, immediately following Youngjae. The two of them together is a sure-fire way to get anyone up in the morning. Not that Youngjae even really _exists_ in the actual mornings, but when it’s time for him to get up, sometimes he’ll listen back to that morning’s show, if only to hear Jackson cracking jokes and his raspy laugh and that moment at the start of the show where he tells the listeners they were just listening to Youngjae. (At that point, there’s always something in Jackson’s voice that Youngjae can’t quite place, something that makes him _feel,_ for some reason. All he knows is that he feels unreasonably disappointed when Bambam’s the one to announce what show was on before them.)

Jackson also has his own show one evening a week and is the DJ who usually ends up interviewing celebrity guests when they visit the station. He does so much, and only ever seems to want to do even more. Youngjae’s constantly in awe of him. He’s especially in awe of how early Jackson gets up for the radio. (Maybe there are other things he’s more in awe of, but he’ll tell himself it’s that and nothing else. He’ll tell himself it’s because he simply admires Jackson as a DJ, not because his heart does backflips when Jackson smiles at him.)

The song that’s playing is about to end: Youngjae doesn’t quite panic, but he spends the last minute or so of it wondering if he should keep talking to Jackson on the air nonetheless.

“So, I don’t know if you wanted to actually say that you’re here now, or…?”

“It’s your show,” Jackson tells him. “I’ll stay quiet for once, yeah?”

Youngjae nods. As much as he’d like to continue talking to Jackson, that’s probably for the best. He’s got his playlist planned out and he knows what he wants to say about each song, and announcing that Jackson’s here would disrupt that. Also, whoever’s listening absolutely does _not_ need to hear him sounding flustered. Jackson teases Bambam enough during their show, does the same with his guests if the mood is right. Youngjae definitely wouldn’t mind being on the receiving end of that, but not on the air. Not when he has to be professional and he doesn’t know how to handle reacting to that in a somewhat professional manner, not like Bambam does. Besides, it’s far too early to be trying to flirt back in a way that might be even a little bit smooth, let alone when people are listening.

Jackson watches intently as Youngjae takes a moment to talk to the listeners, watching the way Youngjae’s hands move on the mixing board like he’s genuinely interested in how Youngjae works, like he thinks he could learn something from Youngjae even though he’s been in radio for longer than Youngjae has. Maybe it should be unsettling, should throw Youngjae off his game, but instead it just has him wanting to do his best, has him wanting to impress Jackson. He’d love to observe Jackson like this sometime, except unlike Jackson, he doesn’t really have the excuse of being early for his timeslot: even if he were to show up at the very end of one of Jackson’s evening shows, he’d be whole _hours_ early for his own one later. Not that Youngjae thinks Jackson’s using that as an excuse to see him, of course. That would just be him being embarrassingly hopeful.

They talk through the music and the ad breaks, Jackson somehow silently adding to his words with one hand and clutching at a paper cup of coffee with the other. Youngjae looks at it enviously, even though he knows he shouldn’t. Not this late in his show. Jackson seems to notice.

“I would have brought one for you as well, except I doubt you need it when you’re going home to sleep after this?” Jackson’s right, really. A hundred percent correct.

“It’s the thought that counts, anyway,” says Youngjae. “Better than you bringing me coffee that I shouldn’t drink.”

“That’s exactly what I thought!” Jackson says, his grin almost wild. “Great minds, huh?”

His smile’s an easy one to return, contagious even at this time of day. It’s been the quickest hour of the show so far when it’s usually the longest, and Youngjae can only put that down to Jackson’s presence beside him: the warmth he exudes, the easy chatter. That look in his eyes, somehow so similar to the way his voice sounds when he says Youngjae’s name on the air, something in it that Youngjae can’t ever seem to work out.

When Bambam arrives, ten minutes before Youngjae’s due to wrap up, he peers at them through the glass just like Jackson had: pressing his face right up against it, shooting them both a knowing look. Youngjae tries to ignore it by looking away, but he can feel it, Bambam’s sharp eyes piercing right through him. It’ll be something for Bambam and Yugyeom to tease Youngjae about the next time the three of them meet up, probably, but there’s _also_ the fact that Bambam’s looking at Jackson the exact same way, which – well. Youngjae’s not going to dwell on it.

He says his goodbyes and hits play on one final song before letting Bambam and Jackson get settled. Youngjae waves at them both and heads to the elevator so he can leave, the sound of their jingle ringing in his head as he travels down to the ground floor.

Outside, it’s starting to get light: the sky’s turning a strange mix of hazy blue-grey dashed with tinges of yellow-orange. Youngjae plugs in his earphones and opens the radio station’s app on his phone so he has something to listen to on the walk back to his apartment. He tunes in just in time to hear his own name, and today, Bambam’s the one to say it. Youngjae spends the next few seconds trying to reason with himself that there’s no reason to be upset, but then–

“And you were in there with him for a bit, right, Jackson-hyung?”

“I was!” Jackson exclaims. As always, he sounds far too animated for not-many-minutes-past six in the morning. Youngjae doesn’t know how he does it. “Maybe I’ll have to head in early more often. He took good care of me – just like I always know he takes good care of our listeners, too.” There’s a knowing edge to his voice, like he can somehow tell that Youngjae’s listening, and Youngjae lets himself smile, giddy and wide and bright, not caring that he isn’t wearing a mask to cover it up. It’s not like there are many other pedestrians out at this time, anyway, and even if there were, they wouldn’t be able to tell what Youngjae’s smiling about: it’s his secret, safe between him and Jackson and his headphones.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading, everyone!! you can always find me on tumblr @ vibetechs, and as of very recently on twitter @gotsevenses - come and say hi!!


End file.
